THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Wednesday August 1, 2012
Volume 125, Issue 159
www.THEDAONLINE.com
SGA goes abroad to connect with alumni by Lacey Palmer Staff writer
Traveling across the globe may seem like a daunting task, but for five West Virginia University representatives, it’s part of the job. To connect with alumni and future students, five University representatives traveled overseas last week. Tom Sloane, executive director of international and global relations; Zach Red-
ding, student body president; Jarred Zuccari, student body vice president; Ken Gray, vice president for student affairs; and Stephen Douglas, president of the alumni association, traveled to Japan, Thailand and Malaysia during a nine day trip that cost $30,000 total. The WVU Alumni Association paid $6,000 for Douglas’ portion, while the Department for Student Affairs covered the remaining $24,000
for the other representatives to attend. The main focus of the trip was to connect with alumni in Asia, Redding said. “Our primary initiative in our travels to Japan, Thailand and Malaysia was to meet the charter three alumni chapters,” he said. “In doing so, we were able to become acquainted with many former WVU alumni abroad, speak with them about what life at WVU is currently like and give
staff writer
This fall, some first-time West Virginia University students won’t have a home in one of the University’s oncampus residence halls. The University announced housing was at full capacity and ceased accepting housing applications for the 2012-13 school year June 15. Some students have been placed on a waiting list, while others have been referred to off-campus housing. According to the WVU housing website, all single first-year students are required to live in University housing. In addition, transfer students with fewer than 29 transferable credit hours are also required to live on campus. However, housing is only available on a firstcome, first-serve basis, and space often fills rapidly. “We’re not turning away huge numbers of students,” said Corey Farris, director of housing and interim dean of students. “This is just a handful of students who were really late in the housing process.” According to officials,
reaching maximum capacity isn’t uncommon. “On-campus housing is at full capacity; however, this is an issue that typically happens this time of year,” said WVU Residence Hall Association President Walter Hardy. While limited housing is not a new problem for the University, Hardy said there are currently no plans to expand the on-campus housing opportunities for students. “The new Evansdale Master Plan does not call for expansion of the current residence halls. There are plans to add academic precincts and recreational precincts, but in their plans for the next 5-10 years, residential precincts have not been evaluated,” he said. While the University recognizes the housing shortage, WVU housing is looking forward for a longer- term sustainable housing plan, Farris said. “We can’t rush out and buy and build more housing all of a sudden, because then all of a sudden what if we don’t have the students
see housing on PAGE 2
MountainFest brings bikers, business to Morgantown by bryan bumgardner City editor
For four days last week, the annual MountainFest Motorcycle Rally brought hundreds of roaring motorcycles – and business – to the Morgantown area. July 25-28, the eighth annual MountainFest hosted events, music and vendors at Mylan Park, attracting motorcycle enthusiasts from around the country to attend. This year’s event brought country music star Trace Adkins, as well as the Davisson Brothers Band and Steppenwolf, among others. The event is organized by MountainFest LLC, and is designed to expose bikers from all places to West Virginia, according to their website. Proceeds from the event benefit public projects at Mylan Park, which are focused on enriching the community. For Morgantown residents, public services and hotels, the motorcycles represent a weekend of good business. “We’ve found with the
years past, it hasn’t really been the headache that we anticipated,” said Sgt. J. R. Robinson, with the Morgantown City Police. “Anytime there’s a large influx of people into the city, it’s been a concern for the police department.” However, Robinson noted the police had not been called for any major incidents, and the department’s biggest project was directing traffic during the MountainFest parade through town. “Our call volumes increase anytime there’s a large influx of people, but there was nothing more than you’d expect,” he said. Local gas stations are another business that felt the impact of MountaFest. “In recent years MountainFest has had a large, positive effect on the store. It has been, by far, the biggest weekend every year,” said Ashlee Shafer, Assistant Manager of Donnie’s Citgo. “We prepared for MountainFest by purchasing and
Ancient Shores
INSIDE
‘Ancient Shores,’ ‘Single Dads’ return to 123 Pleasant Street A&E PAGE 10
News: 1,2,3 Opinion: 4 A&E: 10,11,12 Sports: 6,8,9 Campus Calendar: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 7
they have done for WVU. “When we go on recruiting trips, these same alumni come to our college fairs and work with us on giving out information about the university,” Sloane said. “Many times they’ll even speak to parents and students in their native language. It’s always a big help wherever we go when we have alumni with us.” Redding agrees that having
see SGA on PAGE 2
Matt Sunday/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
A participant in the Mountaineer Olympics watches the birdie go over the net during a badminton match Tuesday afternoon in the Mountainlair ballrooms.
by bryan bumgardner city editor
In the spirit of the Olympic Games, West Virginia University brought the competition to the students during the first quadrennial Mountaineer Olympics. The Mountaineer Olympics were held Tuesday at 4 p.m., and teams of students competed for medals, glory and, most of all, cash prizes. To celebrate Olympic tradition students competed in games such as volleyball, badminton and table tennis. At the end of the event individual medals were given out for each sport. The team with the most points overall received five $100 gift cards sponsored by Coca-Cola. Student body Vice President Jarred Zuccari was part of the winning team. “I think it’s a great event, win or lose,” he said. Zuccari brought home five medals from the events. Rainstorms forced organizers to create pitched events in the Mountainlair ballrooms. “People might think they’re cheesy at first, but they’re a lot of fun,” he said. “I had a blast.” Some teams came for the competition, while others came with more literal goals. “We’re here for the five hundred bucks,” said Morgantown native Billy Hogan when asked about his motivation. In pursuit of the prizes, Hogan and his team played volleyball on the Mountainlair Plaza in a rainstorm. Senior Programming Administrator for the Mountainlair Sonja Wilson was instrumental in creating the event.
Matt Sunday/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Mountaineer Jonathan Kimble laughs after being eliminated in a game of ‘musical chairs’ during the Mountaineer Olympics Tuesday afternoon in the Mountainlair ballrooms. “We normally don’t do a lot of programming for the students that go to summer school here,” she said. “I thought the summer Olympics would be a good thing.” Wilson wanted to help the summer students socialize in a friendly environment. Christine Schussler, a WVU grad student who helped organize the event, commented on how smoothly the event came together. “We are all kinds of creative and fun in our own different ways in deciding on events, and the College of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences has been great in providing us with the equipment we need,” she said. bryan.bumgardner@mail.wvu.edu
Sbarro to accept meal plan after renovations A few big changes are coming to a decade-old West Virginia University Mountainlair restaurant. According to Mountainlair officials, Sbarro is closed for renovations until the fall. The Italian restaurant Sbarro, which has been serving students for nearly 10 years, is officially becoming a West Virginia University entity. This means Sbarro will now accept meal plan credits. “The primary reason we’ve gone on this route was to put it on the meal plan,” said Michael Ellington, associate vice president for Student Affairs and director of the Mountainlair student union. Sbarro was the only restaurant in the Mountainlair to not accept meal plans, confusing many students, Ellington said. “Students are very discouraged when something isn’t on the meal plan,” he said. “When it’s the only restaurant that isn’t on the meal plan, they’ll constantly ask why.” In addition, Sbarro will be receiving updated equipment, including expanded pizza ovens, electronic menu screens and, according to Ellington, a visual overhaul. “We’re gonna give it a fresh look,” he said.
Matt Sunday/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
After being acquired by WVU, Sbarro has closed until mid-October for renovations. One of the changes upon reopening will be the acceptence of WVU meal plans. Renovation is expected to take approximately 13-16 weeks, from bidding to demolition and construction. According to University sources, the renovation is designed to improve service for the students. –BAB
see bikers on PAGE 2
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they can support and guide student recruiters who travel abroad. In WVU’s strategic plan for 2020, global engagement is an area of focus. According to Douglas, WVU has 1,500 international students. The goal is to have 3,000 by 2020. According to Sloane, another major goal of the trip was to recognize loyal alumni who have spread across the globe and recognize what
Going for the Gold
Freshmen face campus housing shortages by carlee lammers
them pointers on how to help us gain prospective students from their countries.” According to Douglas, the alumni association is also looking at organizing groups in China, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Brazil. “These organizations have made great strides and helped us recruit students in their area,” Douglas said. Douglas also said alumni groups are important because
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ON THE INSIDE Former West Virginia rifle national champion Nicco Campriani won a silver medal at the Olympics in London this week. SPORTS PAGE 6
LOADED WITH TALENT The Big 12 Conference has five of the nation’s best quarterbacks heading into the 2012 season. SPORTS PAGE 6